Soul Mates
by Kaelz
Summary: After Tara's death, Willow is dating potential slayer Kennedy, But what happens when Tara is brought back to life? Chapter 3 is now up!
1. Reflections of the Past

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!**

**Summary: After Tara's death, Willow starts dating potential Slayer Kennedy, but what happens when Tara is brought back to life?**

The sun streamed in through a crack in the curtains and Willow rolled over. The bed was empty and she wondered where Kennedy was. She guessed that by the sound of running water, that she was in the shower. She now shared the room with Kennedy, her girlfriend. The phrase "girlfriend" still felt odd to Willow. The only other person she had called that was Tara, who tragically ripped away from her. Tears prickled in Willows eyes as she thought about her. Even though she was with Kennedy, Willow still wished desperately that Tara was still there. Willow stood up and got dressed. As she sat and brushed her hair, she reached into a drawer and pulled out a photo of her and Tara. As she looked at it she let the tears of sorrow and grief fall. They ran down her cheeks and fell on the photo. She put her head on the dressing table and wept.

**XXXXXXXXX**

When Willow went downstairs for breakfast, only Buffy was there. Kennedy and the potentials were training in the backyard. Buffy noticed that Willows eyes looked bloodshot and puffy. She gave her friend a look of concern, but decided against saying anything. Willow went over to the sink and began washing out a glass. She looked out into the backyard, the place where Warren had shot Buffy………..and Tara. Then the memories came flooding back to her. The sound of gunfire, the widow breaking, Tara's blood splattering her white shirt.

"_Your shirt" Tara's last words._

_Your Shirt, your shirt, your shirt. _The words echoed in Willows mind. She dropped the glass in the sink, breaking it and sank the floor sobbing. Buffy ran over to her and kneeled down on the floor and wrapped her arms around her.

"I miss her so much Buffy" Willow said in between sobs. Buffy hugged her friend tightly. She missed Tara too. She had been there for her when she was in turmoil over Spike. She looked after Dawn all the time. She was family. She knew how much Willow wanted her back. Even though she now had Kennedy, she simply wasn't Tara.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Later that day, Willow was upstairs, digging out some old magick books. She was doing research on the First, when a bunch of notes fell out of one of the books. She picked them up and walked over to the bed. As she read through them she cried. They were notes on resurrection spells that Willow had researched. She had, many times tried to bring Tara back, but finally gave up after she was told the same thing over and over: You Cannot Be Brought Back From A Natural Death. Willow quickly put the notes back in the book and put it away as she heard Kennedy come up the stairs.

"Hey baby" Kennedy whispered seductively, wrapping her arms around Willows torso.

"Hey" Willow replied, craning her neck to kiss Kennedy. They fooled around a bit on the bed. Clothes got discarded, moans could be heard. You wouldn't need a crystal ball to know what was going. Willow wasn't she sure how she felt about Kennedy. She certainly felt very strongly about her, but wasn't quite sure if it was love.

**XXXXXXXXX**

In the dead of night, Willow tossed and turned in her bed, her lover sleeping peacefully beside her. Willow squirmed as she became trapped in a nightmare.

Willow and Tara were standing in their room, Tara had he back to the window , Willow couldn't move from the spot she was standing on.

"Tara baby….please…stay with me" Willow cried, tears running down her cheeks.

"I can't" Tara also sobbed. Then, there was a cracking sound, like glass breaking and the Willow was covered in blood.

"Your shirt" Tara said looking confused and then fell to the floor. The words where barley a whisper, but they thundered in Willows head. She woke up, and salt bolt upright, panting and covered in cold sweat. She had been having that nightmare a lot lately. She threw the blankets off her and swung her legs out of bed. She walked downstairs and gulped down a glass of water. She set it down on the counter, still panting heavily. Her heart was racing from her nightmare and she tried to relax and slow it down. She walked back upstairs and across the dark landing, wiping away a few stray tears. Willow slowly walked into her room and stopped dead. She walked over to the mirror. "Oh goddess, could it be" she thought. Was she going crazy? She could have sworn she saw………….Tara, there it was a again. Tara had been in the mirror, just for moment. Her heart began to race. Tara appeared in the mirror again. But this time she stayed. Willow couldn't breathe, she was panting, hard. She suddenly realised that her knuckles were turning white as she gripped the dressing table.

"Tara" she whispered hoarsely, her throat had gone completely dry again.

"I love you" Is all that the image of Tara said, before disappearing. Willow started to claw at the mirror.

"Tara, baby, come back." She cried, her tears were falling hard and fast. She could barely find her voice. She scratched at the mirror. Frantically, searching for any trace of Tara.

"COME BACK!1" she screamed, as she cried harder and harder, trying desperately to find her dead lover. Kennedy woke up and hurried over to Willow.

"Willow?" she asked uncertainly. She tried to move her away from the mirror. "Willow" she said again.

"I'll take her" Said Buffy, who had woken up when Willow screamed and hurried in. She had quite a job getting Willow away from the mirror. Even with her slayer strength. Willow didn't want to budge, she kept trying to get back to the mirror. Finally Buffy managed to drag her out and into her own bedroom. She sat her down on her bed and kneeled down, searching her eyes for some kind of answer.

"Will, what happened" Buffy asked in concern. Willow still cried, the tears fell and soaked her cheeks.

"Tara" She whispered.

**To Be Continued**

**So what do you think? Please read and review.**


	2. Coming Back

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

**Authors Note: I just wanna say a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. Please keep doing so and tell me what you think. Also my internet is going to be off for a little while so I will try to update before that happens, but as soon as its on I will be updating again.**

**Soul Mates- Chapter 2**

Willow sat on Buffy's bed crying. Only a few minutes ago Willow saw or thought she saw Tara, her former lover in a reflection of a mirror. Tara had been Willows girlfriend, her lover, her soul mate. At first they had just started casting spells together, talking about witchcraft, learning more about magick. But soon the relationship turned into something else. It turned into love. After being together for nearly two years they had briefly separated when Willow had begun overusing magick and ultimately using a spell to make Tara forget an argument they had about Willows abuse of power. Tara then told her that if she went one week without magick, then they may be able to rebuild their relationship. But again Willow tried to make her forget and when Tara found out she ended her relationship with Willow. Willow finally gave up magick after nearly getting her and Dawn killed by a demon she had accidentally summoned. Tara eventually came back to her but tragically was shot dead by nerd leader Warren. In her grief, Willow turned to powerful dark magick to exact revenge on Tara's killer. Hunting him down and flaying him alive. Soon after, she begun a relationship with potential slayer Kennedy. But now, here she was, crying and shaking uncontrollably. A flurry of thoughts shot through her mind.

Had she really seen Tara? Or was she simply going mad?

If she really did see her, what did it mean? Was Tara trying to contact her? Was she in pain? Was she disappointed in Willow because of what she had to Warren?

Would she contact her again?

Willows head began to throb as she tried to answer these questions. She wasn't even sure how Tara had actually managed to contact her. And then the feeling of loss and sorrow washed over her again. She wanted so much to just hold Tara, to kiss her. She wanted her back. She was so confused. She still didn't know she felt about Kennedy and now she felt guilt, what if Tara knew that she had a new girlfriend. She began to sob bitterly as she thought about it all.

Buffy wrapped her arms around her best friend. She felt so helpless, there was nothing she could do for Willow. If it was possible she would bring Tara back in a heartbeat, but it simply was not possible. Willow had brought Buffy back from the dead when she was killed by a mystical vortex of energy, that Glory had used her sister Dawn to open.

But Tara had died a natural death, she was shot, not killed by mystical means. And yet Buffy couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope, if Willow really had seen Tara in the mirror, maybe just maybe it was possible for Tara to come back. And Buffy hoped with all her heart that that were true, she wished with every fibre of her being that Tara would come back to Willow and heal the gaping wound that had been left by her death.

By now the rest of the Scooby Gang knew about Willow's encounter with the image of Tara. But no one knew what to say to her. But each of them did fell the same shadow of hope that Buffy felt, the hope that somehow Tara would come back. Even though they all knew it was not possible.

After the night Willow saw Tara in the mirror she mostly stayed in her room, wistfully looking at the mirror. She had confessed to Buffy that she was scared that Tara would try to contact her and she wouldn't be there.

Willow became more and more distant from Kennedy, overpowered by her feeling of guilt, she now felt that she betraying Tara's memory, betraying Tara herself.

Willows room smelt fresh and clean. The sunlight streamed in from the windows, making everything bright and warm. But to Willow the room felt odd, strangely gloomy, strangely empty. Now that she had seen Tara again, all she wanted was to have her back. To hold her and wake up next to her. To see her make pancakes for breakfast, to hear her sweet voice and humour. She hadn't cried for a while now, she simply felt too tired. The sorrow and grief still lingered, but the rivers of tears inside her seem to have dried up.

A soft breeze brushed into the room and she could have sworn that she heard it.

"_Willow" _The sweet voice of Tara, floated in with the wind. It didn't sound creepy or unnerving, it sounded kind and gentle, just like Tara.

Willow sat bolt upright on her bed, looking around. She got up and walked to the window.

"Tara? Tara where are you?" she pleaded desperately to the wind.

Later in the week, Buffy and Spike walked through the silent graveyard, stakes in hand. They decided to do a quick sweep of the graveyard, when a rustling in the bushed told them that there was fighting to be done. Two vampires jumped from the cover of the bushes and attacked Spike and Buffy. One of the vampires lunged at Buffy and she stepped quickly out of the way, making the vamp stumble and lose his balance. Buffy gave him a swift kick to the middle of his back that sent him tumbling to the floor. Meanwhile Spike was busy fighting the other, very bulky vampire. He gave it a sharp kick to the shin, making him yelp in pain, Spike grabbed him and threw him against a crypt wall. Before the vamp could compose himself, Spike thrust the stake into his heart and the vamp turned into dust instantly. Buffy meanwhile, was still fighting the other vampire. He had gotten up and thrown one or two very hard punches at her, making her lose her ground. When he came to punch her again, she dropped to the floor and sweeped the vamps legs, making him fall. Buffy jumped back up and brought the stake down into his chest. Now the vampire was nice and dusty. Buffy gave a triumphant grin.

"I just wanna check this place one more time" she shouted over to Spike. He nodded and proceeded to follow her.

Just a few feet away from them lay Tara's grave. But neither of them noticed the mystical red energy of unknown origin circling the grave. The mystical energy swirled around and around and then began to seep into the earth itself, where Tara's corpse lay. The mystical energy swirled around her decomposing body. It slithered in between her rotting fingers and legs. Wrapping itself around her. Her skin began to smooth. It began looking more alive again. Her face began to take familiar form. Her rotting teeth changed from brown to perfect white, in perfect shape. Her eyes began to fill with life and change back to gleaming blue. Her thinning hair started to thicken again. Her lungs began to fill with oxygen and her muscles began to twitch.

The mystical energy dissipated and Tara was alive once again.

She looked around the small space she was in and let out a small gasp.

**To Be Continued………………………………...**

**Please Read and Review, Tell me what you think.**


	3. In The Flesh

**Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!**

**Authors Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I'm very grateful. Keep it up.**

**Soul Mates-Chapter 3**

Tara scanned the small space she was confined in, she could barely see anything, her breathing became shallow as she began to panic. She felt slightly disorientated, but also felt a sense of acknowledgement, as if she knew she would end up here. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She placed her palm on the coffin lid.

"_Cerlain_" she said in a commanding tone. Nothing happened. She tried again and again nothing happened.

"Damn it" she cursed in frustration. Her powers obviously hadn't caught up with her.

Now she was beginning to panic, the air in that coffin was not going to last forever.

She was so confused.

She had been dead, she knew that. But she just could not figure out why she was back, although she felt that she knew she would come back. She had to get out.

"HELP!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"PLEASE, SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Although she knew it was futile to shout and scream for help, being six feet under the ground and in a coffin kinda minimised the chances of being heard, but she had to do something.

Buffy had just managed to land her stake right in the heart of an attacking vamp. She smiled to herself and he turned to dust. The coward of a vamp jumped Spike from behind and then went after Buffy trying to kill her. Obviously she stopped that idea before it saw fruitation.

She walked over to Spike and held out her hand, pulling him up with her Slayer strength very easily.

"Soddin vampire" he cursed, brushing himself off. " So Slayer, do you care to have me knocked about some more tonight or can we-" Buffy didn't hear the rest because Spike stopped abruptly as his head snapped up in the direction they had dusted the first three vamps.

"Do hear that?" he asked, still looking in the other direction.

"Hear what?" Buffy asked, frowning.

"That voice, it sounds familiar" He said and began walking over in the other direction.

"Boy you really are insane. Now you're hearing voices in your head?" Buffy said, trailing after him.

Buffy walked with over to the grave. They stopped.

"Listen" Spike said. Buffy strained her ears and quite faintly, she could hear a voice. It was screaming, sounding desperate, but she couldn't really make out the words. She assumed that Spike, with his heightened vampire hearing, could hear the voice and the words as clearly as if the person were shouting in his ear.

"Its probably just some vampire that got stuck." Buffy said walking over to the grave. But she stopped at once when she saw the name on the gravestone: Tara Maclay.

Willow sat on her bed, flipping idly through some magickal volumes, barely even glancing at the pages. Her mind kept wondering. Why was Tara trying to contact her. Was she actually trying to or was it just Willows mind playing tricks on her, wishful thinking perhaps? She just didn't know. Her head suddenly snapped up. For about 15 minutes, she'd been having strange feelings. It felt as if Tara needed her. As if she were in trouble. But Tara was dead. And she winced as she thought it. Tara was never coming back. So how could she need her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Kennedy said, standing in the doorway.

"You'd probably get change" Willow said, smirking slightly. For the last few days she felt Kennedy's presence oddly comforting. Because for the last few days Willow had thought about Tara and everyone of those thoughts ending with the conclusion that Tara was gone and it was gradually helping her accept her death. Kennedy came and sat down next to Willow. She hadn't known Tara, and to be perfectly honest it was beginning to bug her a little bit that she was starting to cause troubles in their relationship from beyond the grave. She wasn't trying to make Willow forget about her first girlfriend, but she just wanted her to try to move on. Kennedy reached out and grabbed Willows hand, giving it a little squeeze. Willow smiled and leaned in for a kiss. They sat there for a little while, kissing softly. But Willow just couldn't help thinking about Tara and Kennedy just wasn't her.

Buffy stood staring in shock at the gravestone. Her breath actually caught in her throat as she tried to snap herself out of the daze she had gotten into. She shook her head rapidly and she processed the information: If they could her Tara screaming for help, then Tara was alive, which meant Tara was trapped in her coffin. At the last thought Buffy quickly dropped to the ground and began clawing at the earth. She remembered only all too well what it felt like to be trapped in that dark, suffocating space.

"Spike help me!" she screamed at the vampire.

"Oh right" He said, also dropping down and clawing at the soil. They had no idea how long they had been digging through the damp earth, it seemed like forever even with Buffy's slayer strength and Spikes vampire strength. They were both very surprised when they heard a clunk. They had hit the coffin. From there it was much easier to clear the earth that remained and in no time at all they had clear access to the coffin. They each grabbed an end and heaved it out. Buffy had tears rolling down her cheeks. She jumped out of the hole and rushed to open the coffin. When she had opened the huge lid, she couldn't help but be shocked, there was Tara, alive and well and dressed in the clothes that she was buried in. Before Willow went to England with Giles, they had Tara buried. Willow chose to have her dressed in the dress that she wore when Xander had accidentally summoned a demon that plunged the whole of Sunnydale into a song and dance frenzy. Tara had sang to Willow on a bridge in the park. Willow thought that would be a nice dress to put her in. After the funeral, Willow had just collapsed on the grave and cried for what seemed like hours. But now Tara was back.

"Buffy." Tara said, sighing with relief that someone had found her.

"Tara?" Buffy asked uncertainly.

"In the flesh, so to speak" Tara smiled, as Buffy helped her out of the coffin.

**To Be Continued………………………………...**

**Please read and review everyone. Tell me what you think.**


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